Country: Africa

By Osman Mohamed Osman, IFRC Thomas Kafas Shumba smiles as he inspects his only surviving portion of maize crop plantations, adjacent to his mud-walled house—in Wanasi village, Zimbabwe. Clad in a printed grey shirt and a pair of black trousers, the father of five moves around his tiny farm, showing a team from Zimbabwe Red Cross how conservation farming, a new technique, saved some of his crops, despite poor rains a month ago. Eighty farmers, including Shumba, were trained by the Zimbabwe Red Cross on keyhole farming—an agricultural system in which crops are planted in circular garden beds—with a...

By Moustapha Diallo, IFRC Adama Ismael, 24, from Sudan, looks tired. His face deeply drawn from sleeplessness. He appears worried. He is one of the thousands of migrants and asylum seekers trapped in Agadez—having failed to make it to Europe, via north Africa and across the Mediterranean Sea. In their attempt to reach Europe, most fell prey to smugglers and became victims of extortion of money, torture, abuse, prison, rape and slavery. In January 2018, Ismael and thousands of other migrants fled violence in Libya and sought refuge in Agadez, northern Niger. “I am tired, tired, tired. We’ve been...

By Rosemary Nalisa, Namibia Red Cross Society Hileni Naukushu is a respected local leader (headwoman) of the Okadhilodhi Area. She is also known for wearing a different hat as the head and champion of the Namibia Red Cross Society Community Mobilisation Unit, in the Omusati Region—since 2013. “There is a common adage that says that two hands are better than one. If we all combine our efforts we can improve our communities,” says Naukushu. “There are many needy people in the community and if everyone would get involved with helping, instead of waiting for someone else to do it,...

Thousands of Africans continue to risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe, in the hope of improving their living conditions. For many travelling from sub-Saharan Africa, the dangers of the sea are not the first they face.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is the world's largest humanitarian network and is guided by seven Fundamental Principles: Humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, universality and unity.